Nokia released its fourth quarter and full-year 2018 financial results. In the fourth quarter, Nokia saw the second consecutive quarter of year-on-year sales growth across all five of its networks business groups, as well as improved profitability in both networks and Nokia technologies. The company said it is building a foundation for Nokia software showing clear results and its enterprise business to become a pillar of growth.

“Given that 5G rollouts will be staggered over the course of the year, we expect 2019 to have a soft first half followed by a much more robust second half,” said Rajeev Suri, Nokia president and CEO.

Following an investment cycle where operators update their networks across multiple domains, the company expects a second wave where industrial customers will invest in private wireless technology including Long Term Evolution (LTE) and 5G-ready networks, Suri said.

The Finnish firm outlined four pillars of its business strategy going forward. First, Nokia plans to lead in end-to-end networks with communications service providers and said it made strides with numerous operators on 5G advancements.

The company also plans to expand network sales to select vertical markets needing high-performance secure networks including private LTE for critical industries. Nokia had a number of private LTE developments in the quarter including with China Unicom for a smart manufacturing BMW plant in China, Brazilian power distributor Elektro and the port of HaminaKotka, the biggest in Finland. In addition, Nokia and Saudi Telecom Co. (STC) will collaborate on a trial of LTE-based air-to-ground technology, and Nokia and Bharat Sanchar Nigram Ltd. (BSNL), an Indian service provider, signed a memorandum of understanding to explore opportunities in the public-safety arena.

The third strategy is developing a strong software business at scale, and the fourth is focused on licensing.

The company also said the previously appointed presidents of fixed networks and mobile networks, Sandra Motley and Tommi Uitto respectively, will become members of the group leadership team and will report to Suri. Given these appointments, the previously announced plan to create a single access networks division that included both fixed and mobile networks business groups will not proceed.